Pay To Participate

A disturbing trend has spread across the country and has settled right here at the Jersey Shore. When I first heard about it the term “pay to play” was what was used but somebody got smarter along the way and it’s now commonly called “pay to participate.” Regardless of the terminology the meaning is quite clear….it you want to play school sports or participate in extracurricular activities than there’s a fee involved.

Let’s be honest….every school district is dealing with financial and budget challenges like never before and sports is usually one of the first places to make cuts when they are necessary. That’s because many will stand on a soap box and tell you that school is about education and I’d be the first to agree. The difference between me and others is that I have always felt that sports have a role in education. I won’t say it’s on a par with learning to read and write but I also believe there are many who will never fully understand the value of being involved in sports and other extracurricular activities.

We all agree that tough decisions need to be made in times like this and cuts are part of the process when it comes to education. However before parents, administrators and Board of Education members take an axe to athletics that should take a long hard look at what it is they are cutting. Dropping a freshman program means a certain number of boys and girls will simply go home after school instead of being on a practice field for a couple of hours. You’d like to believe that’s extra time for homework but we know better…it’s more time to play video games, watch TV or hang out in places that won’t do them any good. Wouldn’t it be better for them to be physically active, learning the value of teamwork and fair play and develop physically, mentally and emotionally? We talk so much about teen obesity but we are slashing programs which would better enable us to deal with that growing problem.

As for the “pay to play or participate” experiment. Well I’ll admit it’s better than cutting something all together but it’s going to cause problems because parents will assume that if they pony up the money their son or daughter will play and not sit the bench. However the way things are going there may not be a bench to sit on….you’ll have to bring your own chairs.